Chinese have more clout than Indians in Canada: Dosanjh

Chandigarh, Jan 17 (IANS) Despite the presence of more Indian origin members in the Canadian parliament compared to the Chinese, the Indians hold less clout, feels Punjab-born MP Ujjal Dosanjh.”Yes, India may have more representation in the house but still the Chinese have bigger clout than Indians in Canadian politics. The main reason behind this is they are better organised and have a huge vote bank there,” Dosanjh told the media here Saturday.

“There are over one million Indians living in Canada but the Chinese clearly outnumber us. They have a good presence at all levels,” said Dosanjh. There are nine Indian origin MPs in Canada.

Dosanjh was born in Jalandhar in Punjab and spent 17 years there before migrating to Britain in 1964 at the age of 17. Four years later, he moved to Canada where right now he is based in Vancouver.

Talking about Canada’s trade relations with India, Dosanjh said: “In the last two-three years, our trade relations have improved. There is an immense scope of further enhancement in the areas of automobiles and agriculture.”

Recently Canada has also given indications that it will provide full assistance to ensure nuclear fuel supply to India, pointed out Dosanjh.

While expressing happiness over the election of Barack Obama, a black, as the US president, Dosanjh stated: “His election for the supreme post in the US has shown that every community has an equal say there. The US is just like the first cousin for Canada. Now we are looking forward to strengthening our existing relations.”

Terming the global economic recession as a temporary phase, Dosanjh said this phase would be over in the next two to three years.

“Many industries in Canada have been affected by this meltdown and its ripple effects have also been experienced by many Indians working there. Automobiles, forestry and oil and gas are the worse affected areas there,” said Dosanjh.